Continuous Casting Mold

ABSTRACT

A continuous casting mold with two narrow mold sides opposite one another and two longitudinal mold sides opposite one another. At least one of the narrow mold sides is movable toward and away from the other by means of hydraulic cylinders on the opposite narrow mold side. The hydraulic cylinders can be actuated independently from one another and have, in each instance, a cylinder and a piston guided therein. The piston rod of the piston is connected to the narrow mold side that is to be displaced, and a device for acquiring the position of the piston and, therefore, the displacement of the narrow mold side, is associated with at least one of the hydraulic cylinders. To improve the determination of the position of the narrow mold side, a displacement measuring system is arranged parallel to the hydraulic cylinder and constructed such that its measurement path directly corresponds to the displacement of the piston of the hydraulic cylinder.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This is a U.S. national stage of application No. PCT/DE2008/000537, filed on Mar. 26, 2008, which claims Priority to the German Application No.: 10 2007 020 543.2, filed: Apr. 26, 2007; German, Application No.: 10 2007 039 882.6, filed: Aug. 20, 2007, the contents of both being incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention is directed to a continuous casting mold with two narrow mold sides opposite one another and two longitudinal mold sides opposite one another, wherein at least one of the narrow mold sides is movable toward and away from the other by hydraulic cylinders on the opposite narrow mold side. The hydraulic cylinders can be actuated independently from one another and have, in each instance, a cylinder and a piston guided therein, the piston rod of the piston being connected to the narrow mold side that is to be displaced. A device for acquiring a position of the piston and, therefore, the displacement of the narrow mold side, is associated with at least one of the hydraulic cylinders.

2. Prior Art

Continuous casting molds with devices of the kind mentioned above for acquiring the displacement of the narrow mold side to be adjusted are known, for example, from DE 199 60 792 C2 or EP 914 888 B1.

In DE 199 60 792 C2, a device is provided at the piston rod which transmits the position of the piston rod to a scale arranged in a stationary manner. In EP 914 888 B1, a linear displacement transducer is arranged parallel to cylinders.

Both devices have the disadvantage that only a relative position can be acquired. A calibration must be carried out initially and the respective end positions of the narrow mold sides are derived therefrom as reference quantities. Only then is it possible to deduce the actual position of the piston, and therefore the position of the narrow mold side, from the position of the displacement transducer.

This calibration must be carried out every time a basic adjustment of the mold is carried out. This calibration is time-consuming and inconvenient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a continuous casting mold which makes possible a simpler, faster adjustment which is also flexible with respect to a device for determining a position of the narrow mold side.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the device comprises a displacement measuring system arranged parallel to the hydraulic cylinder and constructed such that its measurement path directly corresponds to the displacement of the piston of the hydraulic cylinder.

The displacement measuring system preferably comprises telescoping elements, e.g., similar to a cylinder and piston rod. Accordingly, this system follows the displacement of the narrow mold side by the hydraulic cylinders in the same manner.

The compact design of this displacement measuring system makes it possible to arrange a plurality of such systems around the respective hydraulic cylinder so that measurements can be made redundantly.

In a preferred embodiment, the hydraulic cylinder and displacement measuring system form a module, that is, a cohesive arrangement. In this way, this module can be exchanged in its entirety. This in turn has the advantage that no calibration is required in the system; rather, this unit is calibrated prior to installation and is then immediately ready for use after being installed in the system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a hydraulic cylinder for adjusting a narrow mold side with a displacement measuring system in an extended operating position;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a hydraulic cylinder for adjusting a narrow mold side with a displacement measuring system in the retracted operating position; and

FIG. 3 is a modified articulation of the displacement measuring system at the hydraulic cylinder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows hydraulic cylinder 1 with piston rod 2 and the indicated narrow mold side 3. The rest of a continuous casting mold is shown schematically as sides 8, 9, and 10, especially because the person skilled in the art is already sufficiently familiar with these constructions from at least the prior art cited above.

The displacement measuring system 4 is arranged parallel to the hydraulic cylinder 1, specifically, in a construction corresponding to that of a piston-cylinder system, i.e., with telescoping elements.

In FIG. 1, this displacement measuring system 4 is fastened to the hydraulic cylinder 1 on one side and to the support 5 of the piston rod 2 on the other side. The hydraulic cylinder 4 is preferably articulated at the narrow mold side 3.

The relative displacement of the hydraulic cylinder 1 and piston rod 2 connected to piston 2 a, is transmitted directly to the telescoping displacement measuring system 4 by this arrangement and design of the displacement measuring system 4.

According to the second variant for fastening which is shown in FIG. 3, where the telescoping element 6 of the displacement measuring system 4 is connected to the piston rod 2 and the associated cylinder is connected to the hydraulic cylinder 1. Therefore, the displacement of the telescoping element 6 of the displacement measuring system 4 corresponds exactly to the displacement of the piston rod 2 by which the narrow mold side is adjusted.

FIG. 2 shows that the entire arrangement and design of the displacement measuring system and hydraulic cylinder is very compact so that a plurality of displacement measuring systems can also be provided around the hydraulic cylinder.

The invention has been claimed and described herein with a hydraulic cylinder arrangement for adjusting the narrow side of the mold. This hydraulic cylinder arrangement can also be a linear displacement system, which would indicate another adjustment option such as a mechanical or electromechanical arrangement. It is fundamental that the linear adjusting movement for the narrow side of the mold is reproduced in parallel and directly by the displacement measuring system.

Thus, while there have shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Moreover, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto. 

1.-4. (canceled)
 5. A continuous casting mold comprising: two longitudinal mold sides opposite one another; two narrow mold sides opposite one another, at least one of the narrow mold sides is movable toward and away from the other; at least one hydraulic cylinder configured to move the at least one moveable narrow mold side, wherein each of the at least one hydraulic cylinder is independently actuatable, the at least one hydraulic cylinder comprising: a cylinder; a piston guided in the cylinder; and a piston rod coupled to the piston, wherein one of the piston rod and the cylinder is coupled to the at least one moveable narrow mold side; and a device configured to acquire a position of the piston and a displacement of the narrow mold side based on the acquired position of the piston of the at least one hydraulic cylinder, the device comprising: a displacement measuring system arranged parallel to the at least one hydraulic cylinder constructed such that a measurement path of the displacement measuring system directly corresponds to the displacement of the piston of the hydraulic' cylinder, wherein the displacement measuring system and the at least one hydraulic cylinder form a module configure to be exchanged in its entirety.
 6. The continuous casting mold according to claim 5, wherein the displacement measuring system comprises telescoping elements.
 7. The continuous casting mold according to claim 5, wherein the at least one hydraulic cylinder comprises a plurality of hydraulic cylinders configured to move the at least one moveable narrow mold side; and a plurality of displacement measuring systems respectively associated with the plural hydraulic cylinders.
 8. The continuous casting mold according to claim 6, further comprising: a plurality of hydraulic cylinders configured to move the at least one moveable narrow mold side; and a plurality of displacement measuring systems associated with each of the plural hydraulic cylinders.
 9. The continuous casting mold according to claim 5, further comprising: the displacement measuring systems associated with the each at least one hydraulic cylinder.
 10. The continuous casting mold according to claim 5, wherein: a first telescoping element of the displacement measuring systems is coupled to the piston rod and a second telescoping element of the displacement measuring systems is coupled to the cylinder.
 11. The continuous casting mold according to claim 5, wherein the displacement measuring system is calibrated with respect to the piston position prior to the one of the piston rod and the cylinder being coupled to the at least one moveable narrow mold side. 